With a victory today, Auburn can solidify the West's No. 4 seed in next week's tournament.

And if Auburn loses?

the two teams would be thrown into a lengthy, complex tiebreaker.

But is the No. 4 seed really a good thing?

That No. 4 seed could actually be a negative, since that team would have to face Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals with a first-round victory.

One more viewpoint...

Since Auburn isn't playing for NCAA tournament seeding and actually needs to win the whole shebang to make the post-season, maybe it would be better to play Kentucky early, rather than late. You're probably going to have to beat Kentucky anyway, so might as well do it while you're fresh, right?